


One Last Promise

by Clarkecadia



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, I just want my kids to be okay, Light Angst, let them be happy, my poor gays, not as sad as it sounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 04:56:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17739419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clarkecadia/pseuds/Clarkecadia
Summary: An unexpected visit after the Battle of Bright Moon leads to a future Adora only envisioned in her dreams.





	One Last Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys so it's official. I am back from a year long writers block and it's all thanks to everyone's favorite disaster lesbians in love. So please enjoy and let me know what you think!

Adora sighed heavily as she limped her way through the corridors of Bright Moon's castle. All of the training in the world couldn't prepare her for the bitter aftermath of a battle. They had won. With the help of all of the rebellion, She-Ra was victorious in preventing the fall of Bright Moon. "We won. We did it." Adora murmured to nobody into particular as she reached her room and collapsed face first onto her way too soft bed. She couldn't bring herself to sleep in the same room as Glimmer and Bow tonight. Not when their overwhelming optimism would only make Adora feel worse. Maybe her pessimism stemmed from her sinking feeling that though they kept Bright Moon alive, it was only for them to fight another day. Or maybe it was because whenever she closed her eyes, she was faced with the intoxicating glow of blue and yellow holding her gaze. How she missed those eyes...

"Stop. Stop it, Adora." She whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes against the multiple pillows that surrounded her in an attempt to clear her mind. 

Adora sat up with some difficulty and made her way to her bathtub. She stripped her clothes from her body, careful not to agitate the still slightly bleeding scratches on her back. There was a time not so long ago when Adora would have welcomed those slender fingers running across her back, much more gently than she had come accustomed to as of late. She sighed sadly at the memory. Catra hadn't touched her like that in a very long time. 

Adora cursed as she submerged herself in the water, the sting from her wounds subsiding after a few moments. Thankfully, all of the pain she was feeling would be gone in the morning thanks to She-Ra's advanced healing abilities. The battle would leave no visible scars, and for that, Adora was grateful. She stared at the crystals adorning the ceiling until the water washed away the filth from the battle. Once she was clean, Adora slipped into her tank top and boxers and crawled into her bed. It was only after she was sure there would be no interruptions from Bow or Glimmer that Adora allowed herself to cry. Her tears started slowly at first but it didn't take long for all of the overwhelming emotions to wash over her. 

"F-Fuck." Adora cursed, rubbing frantically at her eyes. "When did I get so weak?" She asked to the darkened room, her heart skipping a beat when her question was answered. 

"Probably about the same time you left me to go play dress up with your new friends." The voice smirked from somewhere above Adora. "Hey, Adora."

Adora bolted from her bed, her sword raised. "Catra. What are you doing here?" She growled.

A soft chuckle filled the air as Catra leapt from the rafters and landed in front of Adora. "A girl can't take a walk to clear her head after a humiliating defeat?" She asked, walking past Adora and flopping down on the bed. "God, Adora, no wonder you've gone soft, this bed feels like it's made out of clouds."

Adora cocked an eyebrow at Catra. "Why are you here?" She asked again, lowering her sword to a table, her eyes cautiously following her former friend's every move. 

Catra sighed and sat up, a smirk slowly forming on her face. "I thought you'd like to be the first of the rebellion to meet Hordak's new second in command." She grinned, her fangs peeking out from between her lips. "Funny, isn't it? Even when I lose, I win." 

Adora's eyes widened for a moment before she composed herself. "Congratulations." She spat, her arms crossed. "I'm sure you're so excited to be leading the slaughter of innocent people."

"That's not what this is about." Catra growled, standing up and crossing to where Adora stood. "This is about you leaving me. This is about me, finally being noticed!"

"I noticed you!"

"Yeah? When?" Catra fired back. "When it was convenient for you? When Shadow Weaver enlisted you to keep me on a tighter leash? When you used my fucking feelings against me?!" She fumed as she stalked dangerously closer to Adora with each of her questions.

"What are you even talking about?!" Adora exclaimed, her heart racing as she took in the close proximity of Catra. 

"Of course. Play dumb, Adora. That's fine." Catra scoffed. "You know what you did."

"I really don't." Adora whispered, carefully reaching her hand out and grasping Catra's hand in hers. "Catra...please, talk to me."

Catra tensed when she felt Adora's hand slip between hers. "There's nothing left to say. You chose your side. You chose them. Not me."

"I didn't choose anyone. I just, Catra I couldn't stay there. Not after what I saw." Adora whispered, squeezing Catra's hand gently. "I wanted you to come with me. I needed you."

"Yeah. Needed." Catra grumbled, pulling her hand away. 

"Need." Adora said as she took her chances and cupped Catra's cheek. "I never stopped needing you, baby." She murmured, her eyes meeting Catra's and nearly breaking at how torn they looked. 

"Don't." Catra hissed, her resolve slowly crumbling. "Don't call me that. Like I matter to you. You never cared about me."

Adora shook her head and placed her other hand on Catra's other cheek, forcing her to maintain eye contact. "I love you, Catra." She whispered, their long standing unspoken rule of never admitting their feelings now broken. "I know we-I know the Horde taught us that love is weak. And that we should never have feelings but you and I both know that's bullshit. Everyone else may be okay with pretending they're robots but I can't. Not anymore. I regret leaving you, Catra, not the Horde. I'm free here. Free to love. Free to care. And I do. I fucking love you, Catra."

Catra blinked furiously, trying and failing to keep her tears at bay. "You think this changes anything?" She whispered sadly. "I can't leave, Adora. Not after everything. Not after all I've done. I can't come back from this. I made my choices. I have to live with the consequences."

"That's not true. You can come here. With me. We'll look after each other. I won't let anything happen to you." Adora murmured, gently wiping away Catra's tears. "And you'll look after me. Nothing matters as long as we have each other."

Catra sighed sadly and stepped back, immediately missing the feeling of Adora's hands on her. The gentle caress of her fingers was foreign now. Months of fighting and marking each other in ways that were no longer playful had taken its toll. 

"Adora, I've hurt you. I've hurt a lot of your friends." 

"And I hurt you. And your friends." Adora said matter of factly. 

"You hurt my soldiers. Not my friends." Catra corrected. "I don't have friends. Just you. I had you."

"You're not listening, dummy." Adora sighed exasperatedly. "You can still have me. You can still have this. The Horde was never your home, Catra. I'm your home. And you're mine."

Catra worried her bottom lip between her teeth for a few moments before looking up at Adora. She took in the earnest, hopeful smile on her face and something just snapped in Catra. Before she could convince herself not to, Catra had closed the distance between them and captured Adora's lips between hers in a searing kiss. 

Adora let out a small squeak of surprise before she eagerly kissed Catra back, her arms wrapping tightly around her waist. She pulled back to admire her friend before kissing Catra again, this time much more gently. "I love you." Adora whispered softly. "I forgive you. For everything."

Catra swallowed hard and pressed her forehead against Adora's. "I love you too." She admitted after a moment of debate. "I'm sorry for everything. I don't know where to start but...I'm going to make this right."

"I believe you." Adora murmured, gently leading Catra to her bed and sitting down on the edge of it. "We can talk strategy in the morning. For now just be here with me."

"Adora...I can't just leave the Horde. I can't leave the squad. I mean. I could leave Lonnie..." Catra mused. "But I can't leave Kyle or Rogelio. Or Scorpia."

"So bring them!" Adora pleaded, not wanting to lose Catra again. "Please. Just. Don't go. Stay with me, Catra."

"I can't. I can't do it, Adora." Catra whispered sadly, nuzzling her nose against Adora's. "Not yet anyways."

Adora deflated and gripped Catra's hands tighter. "I'm not losing you again. Not after all that we've been through." 

Catra sighed softly and furrowed her brow in concentration. "There may be a way. I could see if Entrapta could help me find a way to take down the Horde from the inside." 

"Entrapta?" Adora asked incredulously. "She's alive?"

Catra cocked an eyebrow and shook her head. "No? She stayed with us because you guys left her behind." 

"We thought she was dead!"

"Well she's not. She fine and she could be exactly what we need to take down Hordak." Catra mused. 

"All this time...Entrapta's been alive all this time." Adora mumbled, her eyes glazing over in thought. "And we left her. I knew we should have gone back. I knew it."

Catra sighed and gently squeezed Adora's hand. "She's safe. And she can help me figure this out. We're gonna take down Hordak. I don't care if I have to launch him and Shadow Weaver into space." 

Adora's heart skipped a beat when Catra gripped her hand. "You know...that could work."

Catra chuckled and shook her head. "I mean. Entrapta is good and all but rocket science? I don't doubt her abilities but I also don't want to be blown up while she experiments. She's already singed some hair off my tail." 

Adora laughed and leaned in to kiss Catra's cheek. "I love you, idiot." She murmured, peppering kisses all over Catra's freckled face. 

"Idiot huh?" Catra murmured, pouncing and pinning Adora to her bed. "Is that any way to talk to the newest addition to your little ragtag group of rebels?"

Adora hummed and leaned up onto her elbows. "No, but it's how I'm going to talk to the beautiful woman I love, who I'm hoping would like to uh, be my girlfriend?" She whispered, her voice wavering only slightly. 

Catra hummed softly and kissed Adora sweetly. "Not yet." She whispered between another gentle kiss. "Not until I finish this."

A dejected frown covered Adora's face, only to be replaced with a smile when Catra's lips found here once more. She kissed her best friend with all of the love she could muster, her hold on Catra tightening as if she were afraid the other woman would vanish. The sun was beginning to illuminate the room and Adora groaned slightly. Their time together was running out and Adora still had so much she needed to say. 

"Catra?"

"Mm?"

"It's dawn."

"So it is."

"Come back to me." 

"Always, Princess."

Adora rolled her eyes and stood from the bed, pulling Catra up with her and into a tight hug. 

"I mean it." She whispered against Catra's ear. "We don't have to stay here. We can go wherever you want. Have a life together. Just. Help me finish this. And come back to me." Adora pleaded, pulling back so she could run her fingers through Catra's unruly mane. 

Catra sighed softly and nodded her head. "I will. I'll come back once I've found a way to take back the Horde."

"You promise?" Adora asked uncertainly, her eyes searching Catra's. 

"I promise." Catra hummed before pressing her lips to Adora's for one last time before she jumped up to a window. 

"I love-" Adora looked up, but Catra was already gone. "You." She sighed sadly as she took one final glance at the window sill before collapsing on her bed and falling asleep. 

 

Months later when Catra and her squad marched into Bright Moon with no tanks or weapons in tow, the entire kingdom was in shock. Lord Hordak was defeated. Entrapta had invented an ingenious device that managed to banish him back to his home planet. Shadow Weaver was delivered to the mages of Mystacor to receive a punishment that was a long time coming. The war was over. An era of peace was about to begin. And when Catra rushed to Adora, her arms wrapping around the love of her life in a way that truly felt like coming home, she was really glad to have kept her promise


End file.
